Monday, March 31st, 2014 at 12:05am

Raytheon’s Diné Facility is off N.M. 317 south of Farmington. The company says it needs a 28,000-square-foot warehouse to continue operations here. (Courtesy of Daily Times)

AZTEC – San Juan County commissioners this month took a step toward helping Raytheon open a $3.3 million warehouse on Navajo Nation land.

The warehouse would ensure the defense contractor could continue to assemble missile and munitions parts at its facility near Farmington for at least three more years.

Raytheon’s Diné Facility needs a 28,000-square-foot warehouse to continue operations at the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry Industrial Park south of Farmington, said Philip Miller, the facilities manager at Raytheon in San Juan County.

Miller declined to comment on negotiations between Raytheon and the Navajo Nation. He also declined to say when the Diné Facility’s lease expires.

The county is only involved in hiring an architect for the project. It won’t hire a contractor for construction of the warehouse, according to county documents.

The commission will give final approval on the grant to cover architectural costs next month, unless the tribe and defense contractor can’t negotiate a new lease agreement.

Raytheon has operated a manufacturing facility outside of Farmington for 24 years.

The plant in San Juan County builds products for several U.S. Department of Defense contracts using electromechanical assemblies, Miller said. He declined to say what products the company makes in San Juan County.

A 2007 news release on the company’s website said employees at the NAPI facility assemble parts for 12 missile and munitions programs for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy.

If operations continue for the next three years, county officials estimate the Diné Facility will generate about $3.5 million per year for the local economy. Of that, $1.8 million will come from the salaries of the 44 employees at $41,280 per employee, and $1.7 million will come from expenses on utilities and support services and money spent at hotels and area businesses, according to county documents.